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Monday, June 23, 2014

Can't seem to choose between compostable and biodegradable
products for an upcoming event? Whether it's an office party, company picnic,
birthday party, backyard summer barbeque with the neighbors, or any other group
event, you should remain conscious and aware of its impact on the environment.
We only have one Earth, so it's important for us to keep it clean for future
generations to enjoy.

Biodegradable Defined

It's a common assumption that compostable and biodegradable
are interchangeable terms used to describe the same thing. Green marketing
campaigns leverage these assumptions to promote the wrong choices.

According to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Green
Guide, a product is biodegradable if it completely breaks down within a
“reasonable amount of time.” Synthetic plastics are typically not considered
biodegradable since they require years – sometimes decades – to break down. Companies
know consumers want products that don’t harm the environment, so they leverage
marketing skills to confuse what we think of as biodegradable. Plastics will
eventually break up into tiny enough pieces so they can no longer be seen. Out
of sight, out of mind… and some even small enough to be consumed by micro-organisms.
But these “Biodegradable” plastics stick around for a very long time and may
never actually benefit future plants. When they get thrown in the trash (they
cannot be composted) and then buried in a landfill, they have done nothing to
help the planet. There are even reports
of researchers discovering 30-year-old newspapers buried deep in a landfill. Some
of these biodegradable products use toxic metals and materials to enable the
plastic to “break” apart and these products leave residues as they break down. Plant
materials on the other hand, are not only biodegradable, they are
compostable as well. They start out as plants, and when they decompose they
become nutrients for future plants. Synthetic plastics, even biodegradable ones
just don’t do that.

My biggest complaint with biodegradable products is that
they are usually made from petroleum based plastics and that plastic
constitutes 98% or more of the raw materials used. Adding 1 or 2 percent of a
“magic” material so they quickly break up into millions of tiny pieces of
plastic is not what I think of as biodegradable. Plastics should only be used for
recyclable products, not one time use disposable items.

The FTC requires all products labeled as compostable to
break down into beneficial mulch in a reasonable amount of time in either a
commercial composting facility or a home compost pile/bin. (Be careful to
understand the difference. If it requires a commercial compost facility, it
will not realistically break down in your home compost bin.) The main
difference between biodegradable and compostable is that compostable, unlike
its counterpart, offers beneficial nutrients and sustenance to the soil as it
decomposes.

Opting to use compostable products in your next event will
give you the peace of mind knowing that you aren't contributing to plastic accumulation
on our planet. Use wheat straw plates, PLA (made from corn) or paper cups,
plant fiber forks, spoons and knives. Setup trash stations so your guests can
throw trash in one bin, compostables in another, and recyclables in a third.
Use clear labeling so they know how to separate them. Tell them why so they
understand how important it is to do this at home and where they work. Is it
all just going to go in the trash anyway because you don’t have a compost
facility? Compostable is still a better choice because these certified
compostable products are plant based, not synthetic plastics. Nothing really
breaks down in a landfill, it just gets mummified, so at least it did not start
out as a synthetic plastic.

If you are one of the
millions of environmentally conscious consumers who maintain their own compost
bin, you can toss compostable products into it for additional fiber and nutrients.
Many compostable products like paper and wheat straw will decompose in just a
few months time along with all the food wastes, offering all-natural fertilizer
to boost your plants' growth and development. Send anything with Bio-Plastics
like clear corn cups and containers, utensils, and clear clamshells to a
municipal compost facility. These products require higher temperatures and
humidity than most home compost bins maintain. Now you can feel good about
hosting an event that is friendly to the Earth.